Pur Breton is in many ways Olivier's emblematic cuvée. Its name, an indirect way of stating '100% Cabernet Franc' where it is not permitted to be said, a source of consternation for the Anjou appellation and exemplar of the spirit of its maker. 

100% Cabernet Franc from his younger parcel of vines planted in the late 90s, the grapes are de-stemmed and vinified in steel. Side-stepping the more vegetal, herbaceous side of the grape, here we have something a little more savoury, spicy and perfumed. There is a lip-smacking vitality to the fruit, and flavours of black cherry have a earthy, sanguine quality. 

The free-run juice is drained early in the vinification to start fermentation, before being poured back over the crushed grapes to macerate for almost a month. This movement gives the wine a diffused, wide-open feel and seems to draw out more of the dusty spices that characterise the 2024 reds. With a brisk chill, a hunk of fresh bread and a coarse farmhouse rillettes, this is hard to beat.